New Appreciation
by Dark Dream Angel
Summary: Ichigo finds himself feeling a new appreciation for Chappy the rabbit.


**A/N: **_**Hi, *waves nervously* I'm a new authoress for the Bleach fandom. I've read so many amazing stories and have watched the anime up to ep. 170 and watched movies 1-3, and I have never been so inspired so quickly and so much, to write! Here is the very first Bleach story i have written, and I hope you all enjoy it! :) Well, here goes nothing...**_

**Disclaimer:**_** I do not own Bleach, If I did, Rukia and Ichigo would have already confessed to each other instead of being dense and trying to ignore it! (Heh, I'm a die-hard IchiRuki fan, even though I will pair her with other people from time to time.)**_

Why him? Of all the people in Karakura, why did it have to be _him?_

Was being cursed with bright orange hair not enough?

Of course it wasn't enough. Now he was stuck dealing with a short-tempered, foul-mouthed, demanding, curious-about-every-little-thing, midget Shinigami, with a good arm and a serious soft spot- Ah hell, who was he kidding? It was a friggin' _obsession_-for rabbits.

Actually, it was one particular rabbit-_Chappy_ the rabbit.

And Ichigo hated that damned rabbit with a burning passion. Currently, his walls-and ceiling-were covered in crappy drawings-by aforementioned midget-of that stupid, fuzzy..._rodent!_ The gods must find perverse amusement in tormenting him. They were probably sitting up there laughing their asses off at him.

Ichigo, however, was _not_ amused. Although, that _could_ also be due to the fact that he was doubled over, clutching his stomach where the midget Shinigami had punched him. Muttering profanities under his breath, Ichigo raised his eyes to galre at Rukia.

Violet eyes flashed dangerously; she would get her way whether he liked it or not.

She returned his glare just as fiercely and placed small hands on her slender hips. After a few moments of glaring coolly at him, Rukia raised a hand and pointed imperiously up at the object of her desire.

"I. Want. It." she said. 'It' being a Chappy balloon.

Did Ichigo mention he hated that rabbit?

Well, he _really_ did.

Still glaring, Ichigo straightened up to his full height to tower over her, but the tiny woman didn't back down-just like he knew she wouldn't.

"Yeah, well, how does it feel to want?" he retorted.

A shadow crossed her eyes at his ignorantly sarcastic comment; she remembered all too well what it felt like because of her time on the streets of the Rukongai district. But this was now, and that was the past. She tilted her head and her little chin jutted out stubbornly.

"Ichigo!"

He couldn't resist her pout; he had to put a stop to this, she couldn't get her way all the time!

"No, Rukia! We are _not_ getting that stupid balloon!"

He crossed his arms over his chest in a show of bravado; he didn't want anyone to know just how weak he was when it came to her-especially Rukia. She'd walk all over him with those little feet of hers. (Poor, poor Ichigo. Still deluding himself into thinking he has any say in the matter when Rukia says otherwise.)

"But it's a _Chappy_ balloon!" She stamped her foot.

"Tch. I don't care if it had a million Chappys on it, 'cause the answer would still be _no!_" Ichigo scoffed.

And Rukia responded in true Rukia fashion(quickly and violently); she pursed her lips and then aimed a solid kick to his shins.

"Little bitch!" he hissed as he doubled over yet again.

Yep, there'd definitley be bruises later. _'Stupid Chappy! Stupid Rukia!' _he thought.

The little Shinigami quickly siezed this opportunity and scrambled onto the orange-haired boy's back. Pulling lightly on a srtand of spiky hair, she ordered,

"Stand up, fool. I can't reach."

"That's because you're so damned short." he grumbled, but did as she said, and only received another light yank on his hair for the remark.

Rukia extended a hand and reached for the ribbon tied to her Chappy balloon, but it was still out of reach. She swore under her breath.

"Damn." It was higher than she'd anticipated.

"What?" Ichigo asked.

Rukia scowled, "I can't reach it."

He laughed quietly, "Midget!"

"Shut up!"

Deciding to take pity on the poor woman, he glanced back at her, "Get on my shoulders."

With a nod, Rukia did just that. Both completely focused on their tasks, neither of them realized what her wearing a skirt would do to Ichigo, until it was too late.

His face heated as her bare thighs settled on either side of him. _'Oh God!'_ he thought, keeping his eyes trained straight ahead, avoiding her smooth, pale skin. Traitorous thoughts flowed unbidden through his mind-he could hear his hollow laughing and taunting him-making his palms sweaty and his body hot.

He tried very hard not to think about turning his head _just a little_ and letting his lips brush against her skin. It wasn't working. The more he tried _not_ thinking about it, the more he thought about it. _'That stupid rabbit!'_

Rukia's tongue poked out the side of her mouth as she strained to reach it. _'Just...a little...further...'_

"Damnit!" she yelled, and glared up at the ribbon and then down at Ichigo's orange head. The boy was uncharacteristically silent and very tense.

"Hey Ichigo, you all right?"

"U-uh...Yeah..." he muttered weakly. Silence.

"I still can't reach it, Ichigo. Let me stand on your shoulders. I can reach it that way."

_'Ah crap.' _Where the hell was a ladder when he needed one?

_"Don't_ drop me." she warned, and then began moving to stand up.

Ichigo quickly grasped her slim ankles to keep her steady, but when she wobbled, his hands instinctively slid up her lags and firmly clasped the front of her thighs over her skirt. _'Don't think about how good she feels. Don't think. Don't think. Don't think!'_

Rukia jerked, her body going taut in surprise, before looking down at him. He was looking straight ahead, and Rukia was glad he couldn't see the pink tint on her cheeks. And for just a moment, she forgot why she was up there in the first place.

"Hey, ya got it yet?" he asked gruffly, startling her out of her thoughts of him stroking her legs. Her blush deepened.

"J-just a minute." she said and quickly turned her attention back to the prize she sought, praying her blush would disappear fast.

_**'Hey King. Why not take just a quick peek? She'll never know.' **_his hollow cackled._'Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!' _ Ichigo groaned softly. '_Ignore it! Don't look! Don't look! Don't look! __**You know you wanna'! I won't tell if you won't, King! **__Go the hell away!__** Aw, you never let me have any fun!**__' _his hollow didn't sound too disappointed though as it receded, the sound of its laughter fading.

He breathed a sigh of relief and then felt Rukia straining. _'Damn, how high is the stupid-Ah crap.'_

He'd looked up...and was met with a most interesting sight. His eyes widened and his face flamed. He could hear his hollow laughing at him again; Hichigo was going to have a field day with this. _'Look away man, look away!'_

But he couldn't tear his gaze away from the dozens of small Chappys-the rabbit he absolutely loathed, the very one who'd gotten him into this mess in the first place-printed on Rukia's pink lacy panties.

_'Oh God.' _ He'd die a slow and painful death if she ever found out he'd caught a glimpse- stared at, memorized, took a mental picture to rmember every enticing detail-of her underwear.

A gleeful grin spread across Rukia's face as she took hold of the ribbon.

"I got it Ichigo! I got it!" she exclaimed happily.

At that, he was broken out of his trance and lowered his gaze, fighting a blush.

"Great. Let's go." he mumbled and carefully helped her down. She smiled at him and hugged him.

"Thank you."

_**'Oh no, thank "you"! **__SHUT UP!_' he scratched the back of his head nervously. She didn't notice or comment on his odd behavior.

"Don't mention it."

As they went to pay for the balloon, Rukia gushed about how cute it was, and Ichigo glared at it. _'Stupi rabbit!' _Now his imagination-and his hollow-had fodder, something concrete to go on , whenever his subconscious decided to torment him with fantasies of Rukia.

Chappy was his enemy. He hated Chappy. Chappy was laughing at him, he just _knew_ it, but if it made her happy, he could deal with it. Though he'd never get why something so simple made her so happy.

Stealing a glance at her smiling face filled him with warmth, but that warmth was immediately followed by a blush as a sudden image of her undergarments flashed across his mind.

And despite everything his enemy had done, Ichigo found himself feeling a new appreciation for Chappy the rabbit.

**A/N: **_***sits here cowering with hands covering eyes* Well...How was it...? Reviews...? I hope you liked it. And sorry if I made Rukia seem like a brat and Ichigo seem like a weakling! **_

_**'Hollow Ichigo's thoughts'**_

_'Ichigo's/ Rukia's thoughts'_

_**-just in case you didn't catch that or got confused-**_


End file.
